A wonderfully weird, madcap tale with just a tiny bit of terror.
The town of Nevermind endures another zany episode, this time pitting an 11-year-old’s epic survivalist skills against an extremely large rooster.
Chronically overprepared Barker Mifflin has just started his second year of picking strawberries at McFadden Farm, receiving one essentially worthless McToken for each flat delivered. His stellar performance and survivalist know-how bring him to the attention of Megan McFadden, the farm owners’ 11-year-old daughter, who offers him a spot as a row commander and enlists his help solving an unusual problem. Her mother has mysteriously shrunk down to the size of a doll—apparently the work of Megan’s father, Maverick, a scientist who used to work at Colossal Chemistry. And before long, Barker crosses paths with the enormous chicken. It’ll take all his talents and maybe a little luck to avoid complete disaster while getting to the bottom of things. Though occasionally meandering, this second series installment is chock-full of wild antics, wacky wordplay, just enough scares to create suspense, and a generous sprinkling of Barker’s always entertaining, sometimes useful Survival Nuggets. Familiarity with the first entry in the series is recommended, though Carman has made a strong effort to keep this story accessible to newcomers. Characters’ descriptions are minimal.
A wonderfully weird, madcap tale with just a tiny bit of terror. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: 9798212538381
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Funny delivery, but some jokes really miss the mark.
An animal ghost seeks closure after enduring aquatic atrocities.
In this sequel to The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter (2020), sixth grader Rex is determined to once again use his ability to communicate with dead animals for the greater good. A ghost narwhal’s visit gives Rex his next opportunity in the form of the clue “bad water.” Rex enlists Darvish—his Pakistani American human best friend—and Drumstick—his “faithful (dead) chicken”—to help crack the case. But the mystery is only one of Rex’s many roadblocks. For starters, Sami Mulpepper hugged him at a dance, and now she’s his “accidental girlfriend.” Even worse, Darvish develops one of what Rex calls “Game Preoccupation Disorders” over role-playing game Monsters & Mayhem that may well threaten the pair’s friendship. Will Rex become “a Sherlock without a Watson,” or can the two make amends in time to solve the mystery? This second outing effectively carries the “ghost-mist” torch from its predecessor without feeling too much like a formulaic carbon copy. Spouting terms like plausible deniability and in flagrante delicto, Rex makes for a hilariously bombastic (if unlikable) first-person narrator. The over-the-top style is contagious, and black-and-white illustrations throughout add cartoony punchlines to various scenes. Unfortunately, scenes in which humor comes at the expense of those with less status are downright cringeworthy, as when Rex, who reads as White, riffs on the impossibility of his ever pronouncing Darvish’s surname or he plays dumb by staring into space and drooling.
Funny delivery, but some jokes really miss the mark. (Paranormal mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5523-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
Offers a hauntingly truthful view of secrets and strength.
A tale of survival, friendship, and the strength that comes from overcoming fears.
Middle schooler Jac is dealing with the fallout of a real-life nightmare: childhood cancer. But it’s not just the fear of recurrence that she has to handle, but the reality of surviving and carrying the burden of her mom’s constant worry. When Jac discovers a large house that wasn’t there before looming at the end of a street in her suburban New Jersey neighborhood, she worries it’s a hallucination, which could mean a recurrence of her illness. But after her best friend, a boy named Hazel, sees the house too, her sense of adventure takes over. Provoked by a couple of bullies who dare them to enter and then follow them inside, Jac and Hazel explore the house and are met with surprises—like a key with Jac’s likeness on it—that suggest her connection to this strange and terrifying place is personal. Before long, the kids realize they are trapped inside. Shocks follow with every new door they open as they search for an exit and discover ever increasing frights. Delightfully nightmarish visions chase Jac, offering the feel of a thrilling game with twisted and terrifying imagery, as she navigates the house, seeking to understand her connection to this unusual place in this emotionally resonant story. Characters seem to default to White.
Offers a hauntingly truthful view of secrets and strength. (Paranormal. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-313657-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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